This piece uses music as background almost all the way through, but its use feels nonetheless very sparing; I was pleased that it never distracts the listener from the deep, textured voice of the speaker. The piece is of a perfect length-- the producer manages to bring us back to the heart of the fifties racial tensions in a matter of 2 short minutes-- and the final twist in the narration is haunting but very satisfying in a way that unsaccharine endings are.
This would be a good piece to play on any show on desegregation, and on Valentine's day, to illuminate the topic from a very different angle.
Highly recommended. (I might add that although I chose "raw" as one of the adjectives, I am referring to the ambiance of the piece and not the sound quality, which is very professional.)
[redacted]
Posted on February 03, 2005 at 04:57 AM
| Permalink
Very powerful,and the skillful, understated use of music and sound magnifies the impact. PDs, I'm having a hard time hearing how this piece might fit into you program stream, but if you can manage that feat, you've got a driveway moment -- albeit a disquieting one.
This is very effective radio. Simply done, a story told with just enough ambience to set the scene. It could have been much longer but the producer was smart enough to make it short and devastating.
The Valentine, 1955 leads up to a perfect pivotal moment between two children as race and culture drive a wedge between them. It is a great moment, an important moment to understand, but then the piece just drops us there. I would have liked a little more time just to digest what had happened. If this was played on the radio, I can't imagine what you would say to follow up to those last words.
why is it that the evil things we do as kids (when we're supposed to be learning the ropes of the whole morality thing) cut us so deeply as adults? This piece revisits a real moment in the author's life, in a first grade classroom, valentines day, 1955, and the aftermath of that brutal ceremony known as trading valentine cards. The writing is dramatic, the read very close-to-the-mic, which fits the intimate, confessional tone. This is an honest, engaging piece that does a lot in 2 minutes. I would love to hear stations play this kind of edgy, memorable material around valentines day.
Most listeners, I think, would not soon forget this little piece. An honest, compelling account of a moment in 1st grade, 1955, that can inform us more about racism, in two minutes, than you would have ever thought possible. The Huck Finn references were masterful. I listened to the piece before I read the description, so I was as surprised as a listener who had heard no intro whatsoever. In fact, I think the minimal intro made it much stronger for me.
Comments for The Valentine 1955
This piece belongs to the series "Youth Epiphanies"
Produced by Susan B. Price
Other pieces by Susan Barrett Price
Rating Summary
6 comments
Laura Wiens
Posted on February 27, 2005 at 12:08 PM | Permalink
Review of The Valentine 1955
This piece uses music as background almost all the way through, but its use feels nonetheless very sparing; I was pleased that it never distracts the listener from the deep, textured voice of the speaker. The piece is of a perfect length-- the producer manages to bring us back to the heart of the fifties racial tensions in a matter of 2 short minutes-- and the final twist in the narration is haunting but very satisfying in a way that unsaccharine endings are.
This would be a good piece to play on any show on desegregation, and on Valentine's day, to illuminate the topic from a very different angle.
Highly recommended. (I might add that although I chose "raw" as one of the adjectives, I am referring to the ambiance of the piece and not the sound quality, which is very professional.)
[redacted]
Posted on February 03, 2005 at 04:57 AM | Permalink
Review of The Valentine 1955
Very powerful,and the skillful, understated use of music and sound magnifies the impact. PDs, I'm having a hard time hearing how this piece might fit into you program stream, but if you can manage that feat, you've got a driveway moment -- albeit a disquieting one.
Tara Anderson
Posted on May 17, 2004 at 10:00 AM | Permalink
Review of The Valentine 1955
This is very effective radio. Simply done, a story told with just enough ambience to set the scene. It could have been much longer but the producer was smart enough to make it short and devastating.
Amy O'Leary
Posted on March 08, 2004 at 09:27 AM | Permalink
A pivotal moment, a sudden ending.
The Valentine, 1955 leads up to a perfect pivotal moment between two children as race and culture drive a wedge between them. It is a great moment, an important moment to understand, but then the piece just drops us there. I would have liked a little more time just to digest what had happened. If this was played on the radio, I can't imagine what you would say to follow up to those last words.
Gregory Warner
Posted on February 19, 2004 at 11:06 AM | Permalink
your first moral failure, revisited
why is it that the evil things we do as kids (when we're supposed to be learning the ropes of the whole morality thing) cut us so deeply as adults? This piece revisits a real moment in the author's life, in a first grade classroom, valentines day, 1955, and the aftermath of that brutal ceremony known as trading valentine cards. The writing is dramatic, the read very close-to-the-mic, which fits the intimate, confessional tone. This is an honest, engaging piece that does a lot in 2 minutes. I would love to hear stations play this kind of edgy, memorable material around valentines day.
Phil Easley
Posted on February 05, 2004 at 07:21 AM | Permalink
Review of The Valentine 1955
Most listeners, I think, would not soon forget this little piece. An honest, compelling account of a moment in 1st grade, 1955, that can inform us more about racism, in two minutes, than you would have ever thought possible. The Huck Finn references were masterful. I listened to the piece before I read the description, so I was as surprised as a listener who had heard no intro whatsoever. In fact, I think the minimal intro made it much stronger for me.